The present invention relates generally to paint spray applicators and more particularly to an extender to which a paint sprayer can be attached on one extender end and operated from its other end.
Painters have long recognized the need to apply paint beyond a painter's reach. Scaffolding and ladders are widely used to bring the painter to a position otherwise out of his reach. Extension poles are widely available for extending the paint applicator beyond the reach of one's arm instead of moving the painter. Paint rollers, sponges, and brushes typically fit onto the end of the extension pole, usually by a threaded pole end screwed into a matching threaded hole in the handle of the applicator.
Paint spray guns may also be mounted on the ends of extension poles, though not as easily as with threaded holes and pole ends. More involved mechanisms must be employed to firmly hold the spray gun or nozzle and to actuate the gun remotely. Prior art discloses previous attempts to mount a spray gun on the end of an extension pole, but all have proven less than desirable. U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,711 teaches an extension pole having a pivoting rectangular tube on its end into which a handle of a spray gun fits. A pin fits in front of the spray gun trigger and is pulled by a connected cable running from the gun to an actuator on the extension pole opposite end. The pivoting tube is mounted in the end of the extension pole with a pivot pin running through aligned holes in the tube and pole, necessarily limiting the range of pitch motion on the pivot pin to allow movement of the pivoting tube within the end of the pole. Presently available spray guns have trigger guards to protect against unintentional actuation of the gun trigger. The guard typically running to the bottom of the gun handle would prevent the gun handle from being received into the extension pole pivoting tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,519 teaches an extension pole slotted at a first end to pivotably receive a mounting plate with a pivot pin passing through aligned holes in the slotted pole end and the mounting plate. On the mounting plate is a U-shaped mounting bracket for receiving a spray gun handle. The bracket is pivotable upward away from the pole end but the range of downward pivot motion, or negative pitch, of the gun handle and bracket is limited by the pole, making it difficult to raise the spray gun over a surface, such as a beam, and point the gun downward toward the surface top.